Grand jury finds no wrongdoing in police shooting

KLAMATH FALLS -- A grand jury found that a police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man who had taken his 11-month-old son hostage and was threatening to kill the boy with a knife.

The Klamath County Grand Jury and the Klamath County District Attorney's Office issued a joint statement today concerning the shooting, which occurred last Friday.

Jesse Lee Johnson told officers surrounding the home in this town near the California border that he was drunk, high on methamphetamine and was ready to kill the baby.

Police Sgt. Dennis Davenport shot Johnson after the man walked outside the home holding a knife to the baby's throat, said Klamath County District Attorney Ed Caleb.

Johnson, 27, died at a hospital soon after the shooting. The baby was not hurt, Caleb said.

The family protested the decision to use deadly force and "felt that they were treated unfairly by police," according to the joint statement.

"The grand jury is understanding and sympathetic to the family of Mr. Johnson," the statement said. "They were moved by the obvious agony that the family is enduring. However, there was unanimous consensus that the officer's actions were reasonable under the difficult circumstances and that the officer acted in accordance with his experience and training."